Looking for some new music to check out. Kinda getting sick of hearing the same mainstream indie Triple J stuff that most of my friends listen to, so the less well known the better.

Been listening to a lot of the Mountain Goats (thanks to Spikey), The xx and the Gaslight Anthem recently, for reference. Open to pretty much anything though.

i dont remember ever talking about the mountain goats on here

kurt vile has a new album out. that will probably be good. i'm really loving the william tyler album (impossible truth) but if after 2 minutes of this (William Tyler - Cadillac Desert - YouTube) you start to want words it's probably not for you. (but lambchop and/or silver jews might be!). yo la tengo's new album is good. yo la tengo albums are always good.

that's all i've got. i suppose i should find out what the kids are talking about for this year.

or keep listening to gene clark's 'No Other'. that has hit me like a train recently.

Looking for some new music to check out. Kinda getting sick of hearing the same mainstream indie Triple J stuff that most of my friends listen to, so the less well known the better.

Been listening to a lot of the Mountain Goats (thanks to Spikey), The xx and the Gaslight Anthem recently, for reference. Open to pretty much anything though.

Having been in the same sort of position there's a few bands I would recommend if you want to start expanding a bit.

Brand New - if you want to go with the sort of 'emo' branded stuff. I think the connotations of that tag are a bit stupid personally, sure they're sometimes over-emotional and angsty, but really they make great, sometimes gut-wrenching, songs. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me is just incredible; lives up to the title. Brand New - You Won't Know

TV On The Radio - a bit arty and a bit out there sometimes, but this is the experimental side of indie that is so much more interesting to listen to than the mainstream radio stuff. Their songs and albums tend to be growers, but give them a go and you'll love them. One of the most important bands in music atm, in my opinion of course. TV On The Radio - Second Song (Also try The Flaming Lips for experimental goodness - Fight Test)

Cloud Nothings - not the early stuff, that's standard indie filler, but the latest album is fantastic. Goes for a harsher, heavier sound that's more in common with post-hardcore. If you want to get into the heavier stuff, this is a good place to start in terms of contemporary bands. No Future/No Past and Wasted Days are a thrill-ride. This song is their best (less heavy though). Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless (If you want to go into post-hardcore more, At The Drive-In are the kings - One Armed Scissor)

or keep listening to gene clark's 'No Other'. that has hit me like a train recently.

I picked up the remastred version of that for a couple of quid the day after you first mentioned it on here, actually. Saw it, thought "Wonder if that's the one El Spiko mentioned?" & lo and behold; it was.

Unrelated but I thought this was interesting. If anyone wants a decent example of the power of a good producer (or in the case of what I'm about to post, a bad one), then have a listen/watch to this song first:

Just about all of the soul is sucked out of it. Pretty much sounds like it was slapped over the top of an existing (and mediocre, in my opinion) late 90's beat + chords. Now it sounds like a bad rap cliche, the a capella especially ugh. Very average performance by the singer too.

People underestimate massively the role of a good producer. Even the best muso's need help with an outside perspective who can not just suggest things but outright contradict the artist if they need to, someone who can get the best possible performance out of the performers. It's a huge red flag for a crap album when I see an album is self-produced, especially if the band has had producers involved in previous records. You'll often hear the band claim they're free now, can finally do the music with the vision they've always intended but the end result is usually self-indulgent and crap.

Having been in the same sort of position there's a few bands I would recommend if you want to start expanding a bit.

Brand New - if you want to go with the sort of 'emo' branded stuff. I think the connotations of that tag are a bit stupid personally, sure they're sometimes over-emotional and angsty, but really they make great, sometimes gut-wrenching, songs. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me is just incredible; lives up to the title. Brand New - You Won't Know

TV On The Radio - a bit arty and a bit out there sometimes, but this is the experimental side of indie that is so much more interesting to listen to than the mainstream radio stuff. Their songs and albums tend to be growers, but give them a go and you'll love them. One of the most important bands in music atm, in my opinion of course. TV On The Radio - Second Song (Also try The Flaming Lips for experimental goodness - Fight Test)

Cloud Nothings - not the early stuff, that's standard indie filler, but the latest album is fantastic. Goes for a harsher, heavier sound that's more in common with post-hardcore. If you want to get into the heavier stuff, this is a good place to start in terms of contemporary bands. No Future/No Past and Wasted Days are a thrill-ride. This song is their best (less heavy though). Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless (If you want to go into post-hardcore more, At The Drive-In are the kings - One Armed Scissor)

Hope this helps.

Taking a look at Brand New now - just started the song so can't really comment.

The Flaming Lips are gun. Definitely grabbing a stack of their stuff ASAP. That Cloud Nothings song didn't impress me, but one of the others from that album made me think it was worth getting - reckon it'll grow on me.

At The Drive-In definitely didn't grab me, and TV On The Radio sound weirdly good, I'll definitely be checking them out some more. Cheers for the suggestions.